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July 30, 2018
lisakunk

13 comments

Long Live Mr. Treehouse: Only Now He’s Mr. Bridge Patio Thingy Over the Stream

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman After seeing our empty-nester treehouse come down last week, many people from all around shared how they felt the pull of childhood fun coming to an end. End? Never! Transform, yes. We live by rules such as Waste not, want not and all kinds of cliches like that. As we will one […]

July 27, 2018
lisakunk

26 comments

Empty Nest Flutterings: Come on Down, Mr. Treehouse

  By Lisa Batten Kunkleman There comes a time, when the nest is empty, we push back the tears and make room for other things; like hammocks and memories. Today’s the day. Once a sturdy sight for kid’s eyes. Barn red siding, climbing pegs, and a yellow slide, you were a group project and a […]

June 18, 2018
lisakunk

22 comments

Hershey Nuggets: A surprising Memory Aid

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman My mother’s memory technique would never work in our house. She uses a kitchen table candy dish filled with dark chocolate Hershey Nuggets for more than maintaining healthy cholesterol levels. If she wants to remind herself to take the trash out to the street, she sets one nugget on the table. […]

17 comments

Oh, Christmas Flu

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman Just kidding about the cat. He was not hugging the commode but was drinking in this picture and actually, he’s been drinking heavenly toilet water for several years now. However, with our triplets home from college and lots of family around, the two legged critters in our house or some of […]

22 comments

Awkwardness and Comedy in the Early Voting Line

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman We did it. We voted early. My husband and I, plus dozens of other Americans absorbed an hour of Vitamin D  in a line spanning an entire wall outside of the library. After finally entering the door, the actual voting on one of the ten machines took no time at all.   […]

9 comments

My News Addiction

My News Addiction By Lisa Batten Kunkleman Okay. It’s confession time. I need to explain why my housework is more Oscar than Felix, my fridge contains six-day-old rotisserie chicken carcasses, and supper may be breakfast food again. I need to admit the reason I haven’t published a book isn’t lack of fodder or writer’s block. […]

11 comments

Aging Breeds Patience to Deal With the Unexpected: The Unexpected Can Be Wonderful

  By Lisa Batten Kunkleman   If there’s one thing my husband and I are learning from aging, it’s patience. We’ve learned to take things as they come and work around inconveniences. To adjust plans. Fretting and freaking out over life’s interruptions serves no purpose except to turn a person into unpleasant company. Our latest […]

13 comments

Pre Speech Aphasia Comedy Storytelling: Daddy Was a Talker and Would be 93 Years old Today

Goldilocks and the Seven Dwarfs Meet Rudolph With the Big Red Snout By Lisa Batten Kunkleman Before strokes and who-knows-what caused speech aphasia leaving Daddy (Papa Carl) with only about twenty-one words, he was a funny fellow. Downright embarrassing to his wife and kids at times with his humor. He liked to watch us squirm. […]

July 16, 2016
lisakunk

9 comments

What’s in Your Drawers?

  By Lisa Batten Kunkleman “I found five clippers and got stuck twice by the same pushpin while searching for one paperclip in your top desk drawer. I took the change for pain and suffering.”   These are the words my husband texted to me while I vacationed by a lake. He included a photo […]

June 30, 2016
lisakunk

16 comments

The Good Old Days of Tanning

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman Dang, it used to be fun in the sun. Life was simpler when we could tan all day and our only worry was getting a sun burn. Yes, sunburn hurt, but it was usually worth it. There was no mention of skin cancer back then so ignorance was bliss. Our skin […]